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Paoli Hospital Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation

Paoli Hospital, Main Line Health, has received full re-accreditation with PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), an international organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction. Offering cardiac care as part of the Lankenau Heart Institute, this is the second time Paoli has received this accreditation. 

“Paoli is honored to receive this recognition as a reflection of our efforts to provide patients from the Chester County area expert care in rapid response and treatment of heart attacks,” said Jim Paradis, President, Paoli Hospital. “As an accredited chest pain center, Paoli Hospital has enhanced the quality of care for its patients and has demonstrated its commitment to higher standards. I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication exhibited by the staff and physicians to achieve this honored status.”

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. SCPC’s goal is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

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The Accredited Chest Pain Center’s protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether or not they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted. With the increase in chest pain centers came the need to establish standards designed to improve the consistency and quality of care provided to patients. SCPC’s accreditation process ensures that centers meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.

The Accredited Chest Pain Center at Paoli Hospital has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and undergoing an onsite review by a team of SPCP’s accreditation review specialists. Key areas in which an Accredited Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include the following:

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·        Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system

·        Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly

·        Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms

·        Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures

·        Ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel

·        Maintaining organizational structure and commitment

·        Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care

·        Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack





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